Acebit Password Depot 4

There are lots of ways to keep track of passwords, such as jotting them down on paper or in a spreadsheet or another computer file.

However, none of these can be considered properly secure, and finding and using the information when needed can be an issue.

If that is the case you might want to consider a custom password organiser, such as Password Depot from Acebit.

Password Depot is designed solely to manage passwords. Now in its fourth release, it lets you store and organise all your account names, passwords and other login information in a set of lists.

The software automatically applies 256-bit AES encryption to protect the data both on disk and in computer memory. It also provides active protection against keyloggers and ensures sensitive user and password information is cleared from both the Windows clipboard and system memory when not needed.

Other benefits of the Acebit software include its ability to rate the strength of your passwords as you type them or it will create them for you using a random password generator.

The latest version also lets you attach files, such as product keys, to passwords and synchronise the contents of multiple password lists. Plus it lets you track password histories, encrypt/decrypt other files on the host PC and store the application and password lists on USB memory keys, enabling you to carry your credentials around and use them on any PC.

Written for use with any version of Windows from 98 onwards, we tested Password Depot in conjunction with the optional Password Deport Server. Available free for up to three users (for six users licences start at £129 ex Vat), this add-on package enables passwords to be centrally stored and shared rather than kept on user PCs.

The Password Depot Server installs as a Windows service on either a server or desktop PC, with a separate control panel for management which can be run on the same host or remotely.

The server does little beyond sharing centrally stored password lists and users interact with the application via the same interface, whether using it standalone or in conjunction with the server program. We found this reasonably easy to follow and there is an option to minimise the GUI to a small toolbar to reduce the amount of on-screen space it needs. However, you are presented with lots of tools beyond simple password management, many of which you may never need and it takes a while to get to grips with what’s on offer.

There are wizards to help with some of the more common tasks, such as capturing login information and passwords when you sign on so you don’t have to type everything into the program from scratch. Likewise, you can get Password Depot to auto-fill login screens on the fly rather than you having to look up the information and enter it manually.

It all works and a few tutorials are included but we did have a few concerns over the level of training likely to be needed simply to secure user passwords. We would also like to see more supporting documentation beyond the rather basic user guide supplied. Otherwise Password Depot does what it’s supposed to and is a huge improvement over jotting down passwords on bits of paper.